Soldiers advised not to join Rangers
05 August 2007 By John Burke
The elite Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW) is facing a crisis as soldiers’ representative body PDforra is set to discourage members against joining the anti-terrorist force.
The Sunday Business Post has learned that the specialist army unit has lost experienced members to private security companies in the Middle East and Europe, while others have returned to regular army units, due to low morale over the allowance paid to ARW members.
A request to review and increase the allowance has been turned down. This ha s prompted PDforra to recommend that serving regular army members cease volunteering to join the ARW at the representative body’s forthcoming annual conference, in the absence of a commitment to higher pay and enhanced career paths for specialist troops.
However, the Department of Finance has told PDforra that no additional money is available to increase the weekly allowance of e 143.01 per member on top of the basic salary paid to the 100-strong elite unit.
Private security companies offer salaries of more than €2,500 per week to experienced ex-ARW members to serve as so-called ‘‘shadow guards’’ on valuable cargo passing through European ports.
Ex-rangers can command more than €1,000 per day in Afghani s tan and Iraq, although only a small number are believed to have accepted such high-risk contracts.
ARW troops face heightened risk of injury due to demanding training and duty. All soldiers who joined the army after the introduction of a new system of contracts must now pass rigorous fitness levels at five and 12-year junctures or risk their contracts being revoked.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/st...689-qqqx=1.asp
Soldiers advised not to join Rangers (ARW)
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